Wednesday 22 June was the 250th anniversary of the Somerset v Stewart case. The Somerset case was decided by Lord Justice Mansfield (whose home was Kenwood) and it was the first modern legal ruling which led to the ultimate abolition of slavery in the 19th century. Dido Belle was living at Kenwood at the time.
Nayan Shah (Year 8) and a group of the Chineke! Juniors composed a piece about her last summer, and were invited to perform it at a commemoration event at Kenwood House on Wednesday. What an AMAZING Achievement!
This is an introduction to the piece explaining the context.
Please do take some time to listen to this wonderful piece of music and join this musical voyage.
The Chineke! Junior Orchestra is a youth orchestra of Black and ethnically diverse players aged 11-22. They were created in 2015 with the aim of creating opportunities for emerging and established musicians of Black and ethnically diverse heritage.
You can read more about Chineke! Juniors here. If you look closely you can see Nayan one of the youngest members.
Chineke! Juniors at Kenwood House for the 250th Anniversary of the Somerset v Stewart ruling
Contributed by Ms Melanie Gentles. This did 'bless' me. Thank you Keedron.
On May 26, the day after George Floyd was killed, 12-year-old Keedron Bryant shared a powerful video where he sang a cappella, “I’m a young Black man/Doing all that I can/To stand.” The song’s lyrics were written by Keedron’s mother Johnetta Bryant. Sharing the video, Bryant wrote, “Just singing what’s on my heart... hope this blesses someone❤️.”
Keedron Bryant’s video was subsequently shared by Barack Obama, Lupita Nyong'o and LeBron James and it’s been viewed more than 3 million times.
Contributed by Aaran Bathia (Year 3)
Aaran was part of a song, ‘Make somebody smile’ to raise money for the NHS. Aaran, as you may know, loves beatboxing and he was picked to be part of SK Shlomo’s live audience during lockdown. Shlomo has also dedicated the song to ‘black lives matter as beat boxing and hip hop music is part of black culture’ and ‘we’re asking our next generation to stand up to racism.’ Aaran took part in the recording, you will see a small picture of him at the end and hear his voice.
Contributed by Mr Fagan Shah
Organisations are working to increase ethnic representation in the classical music industry.
Nayan Shah (Year 6) and his brother Eashan are members of the Chineke Junior Orchestra.
The Chineke! Foundation was created in 2015 to provide career opportunities to established and up-and-coming Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe. Chineke!’s motto is: ‘Championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music’. The organisation aims to be a catalyst for change, realising existing diversity targets within the industry by increasing the representation of BME musicians in British and European orchestras.
Watch these videos to learn and hear more. See if you can spot Nayan performing with the Chineke Junior Orchestra on Britain's Got Talent and he talks more about the Chineke Foundation in his interview.
Contributed by Mr Jas Birdie
"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a song by American recording artist Sam Cooke in 1964. Sam Cooke felt compelled to write a song that spoke to his struggle and of those around him, and that pertained to the Civil Rights Movement and African Americans.
Contributed by Miss Mowle
Comments
Thank you for sharing this song Mr Birdi!
Posted by Sam Loubon, 12/06/2020 at 21:33